Trump's comments reignite Blanche confirmation fight
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche attends a Cabinet Meeting on July 31 in Camp David, Maryland. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Trump administration is still pushing lawmakers to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, even as President Trump defends the "anti-weaponization" fund holding Blanche's confirmation hostage.
The big picture: The "anti-weaponization" fund has been the red line for Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). The lawmakers have refused to vote for Blanche until the DOJ put into writing that aspects of the deal aren't moving forward.
- Trump said Friday the fund is dead, but he didn't seem happy about it.
- "I wish it weren't [dead]," Trump said of the fund. He added that he wanted to see people who "were horribly treated, horribly abused" by the government be compensated.
Friction point: Tillis seemed to take issue with Trump defending the fund on Truth Social, retweeting a screenshot of the president's words on Friday and writing that Trump had "made it clear" that the fund "is still alive."
- "I will continue working in good faith to put an end [to] this legal and political albatross and prevent any potential misallocation of taxpayer dollars," Tillis wrote, adding that Blanche had been forthright in discussions.
Earlier Friday, the president went after Cornyn, and said he would "always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure."
- Cornyn also re-shared a post Friday that said it "does not sound like citizen Trump has agreed to end the Fund."
Catch up quick: The president on Thursday floated withdrawing Blanche's name and keeping him on in an acting capacity until Cornyn and Tillis leave the Senate this January.
- But on Friday, Trump said Blanche should be "immediately approved," a call seconded by members of his administration.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a Friday post that the Senate shouldn't go on recess until Blanche is confirmed.
- The White House also released a demand to confirm Blanche "without delay" on its website Friday with a list of endorsements from law enforcement groups, former DOJ officials and members of Congress, among others.
What we're watching: While the battle over Blanche plays out in Washington, attorneys for the president said Friday that they'd appeal a Miami-based federal judge's order that blasted the extraordinary deal to drop the IRS suit against his own government.
- U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams wrote in her scathing order earlier this month that the lawsuit had been a "bad faith" means to an end and blocked the parties from referring to the settlement in any official proceedings — but Trump is still fighting.
Go deeper: The major controversies stalling Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination
